Mathematician Clement was wrong for the first time in his prediction of the soccer world champion
Renowned German mathematician Joachim Clement, who had previously correctly predicted the winners of the last three World Cups, failed to pick the World Cup champion for the first time.
Before the start of the World Cup, Clement predicted that the Netherlands would win.
However, this particular prediction did not come true.
Previously, the scientist had a string of accurate predictions:
- 2014 — Germany’s victory;
- 2018 — France’s victory;
- 2022 — Argentina’s championship.
For his calculations, Clement uses a method called “reconstruction analysis,” which takes into account a country’s standard of living, the popularity of soccer, and an element of chance.
The mathematician himself explained that he considered the Netherlands “the strongest team that has never won the World Cup,” but acknowledged that he might have subconsciously factored in a less likely scenario.
World Cup Results
The Netherlands lost to Morocco in a penalty shootout in the Round of 16. Morocco advanced to the Round of 16, where they will face the tournament hosts, Canada.
The Canada–Morocco match will take place on July 4 in Houston (USA).
This was reported by Der Spiegel.
As a reminder, the Moroccan national team secured a dramatic victory over the Netherlands in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup and advanced to the next round of the tournament. Regular and extra time ended in a 1–1 draw, and the Moroccans prevailed 3–2 in the penalty shootout.
Prior to this, the German national team unexpectedly ended its run at the 2026 World Cup, losing to Paraguay in a penalty shootout in the round of 16. The victory allowed Paraguay to advance to the next stage of the tournament.
A total of 4,644,549 spectators attended the group stage matches of the 2026 World Cup. According to FIFA, 72 matches were played during this stage of the tournament.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo became the main topic of discussion on social media after the 2026 World Cup group stage match against the DR Congo. For both teams, this match marked their tournament debut, and the Portuguese secured a hard-fought result.
